Joseph McKeen
Center for the Common Good

The McKeen Center offers a wide variety of ways to get involved in the community through service programs, leadership opportunities, community-based courses, research, fellowships, grants, and more.  If you are interested in finding service opportunities but don't know where to start, check out the information below and follow the links to find out more.

• Alternative Spring Break trips are intensive week-long, student-led service trips. 

• America Reads and Counts Tutoring is a Federal Work Study program that enables students to work as tutors in local schools. 

• Annual Service Events such as Common Good Day, Red Cross Blood Drives, and Relay for Life are popular ways to get involved.

• Aspirations in Maine programs are designed to address Maine's low rate of college attendance despite having one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country. 

• Bridge to Kids Mentoring matches Bowdoin students with local school-aged children, providing role models to youth in the community.

• Community Immersion Orientation Trips introduce incoming first-year students to communities throughout Maine and service at Bowdoin.

• Common Good Grant program provides students the opportunity to learn about philanthropy while allocating grants to local non-profit organizations. 

• Student-Led Service Organizations address issues from hunger and homelessness to tutoring ESL students.

• Weekend Service Trips allow students to connect with various communities across Maine through service.

Student leadership is an important part of each of these programs and is what allows them to run smoothly.  If you're interested in becoming a leader for any of these programs, check out the individual pages to find more information on how.

If you cannot find a service opportunity that fits your interests also check out our Find a Partner page which provides contact information for non-profits in the area that you might be interested in working with.  Also, be sure to sign up for Service News by emailing Caitlin Callahan to keep up-to-date on service opportunities throughout the year. 

If you have any other questions or need further help finding the best service opportunity for you visit us in Banister Hall or contact Caitlin Callahan at ccallaha@bowdoin.edu or 798-4236.

To learn about ways to integrate community work into your academic pursuits visit the Courses and Research section of our website.

To learn about service related fellowships and grants visit the Fellowships and Beyond section of our website.